Learning Center

Welcome to the learning center featuring our Five Minute Finance video series. This page is organized into six categories that correspond with the major issues in most people's lives: budgeting, retirement, college planning, investing, insurance, and legal planning. Explore the posts in each category by clicking the arrows at the top of each section. Want to be notified when we post new videos? Click here to Subscribe!

It is often argued that there are “good” uses of debt. Yet many people are so burdened by it that they cannot afford to save for the future, which, of course, is not good. In many cases, debt is the hangover from decisions we made months or even years ago…

When I talk with people about living within their means, we often hit on the surface issues: going out to eat too often or spending too much on clothes. But it takes courage on the part of the client to get to the deeper issues. Today we reveal long-term shifts in housing that could be damaging to your retirement.

How much money do you need for retirement? How much should you save each month to reach that goal? Can you afford that? What lifestyle can you afford if you save less than that? There is only one way to answer those questions…

If I were to make a generalization about the people who have bright financial futures ahead of them: they are prodigious savers and investors. For the most part, they have set up their wealth accumulation plan to be automatic, via either large 401(k) contributions, large contributions into other investment accounts, or, in many cases, both.

We had the chance to visit with Scott Stolz, Senior Vice President from Raymond James, and discuss something that is on many clients minds: Social Security.Scott chose to first take us through an understanding of how Social Security actually works. As you probably see, Social Security takes money from your paycheck.

In our prior videos (College Planning), we have talked about ways to reduce the cost of education through AP course, college selection, and scholarships. Assuming you have done that and still have a shortfall, you are probably moving on to methods of obtaining financial aid. Today we are going to talk about the $150 billion in federal aid that the US Department of Education offers to 15 million students each year. The aid is provided in the form of grants, work-study, and loans.

In our first college planning video, we highlighted advanced placement credits, college selection, and military scholarships. Today we are going to talk about other scholarships: athletic, academic, and community/specialty/employer scholarships.

Does the potential cost of college have you worried? Today we are going to talk about ways to plan for college costs. There are several ways, but we are going to focus on 3 that I think you can control. This is near and dear to me as I have 6 kids, with the first one just entering her 2nd year of college. Possibly 5 more to go, so I appreciate any avenue to save money while still getting a good value in this area.

Would you like to know how investment managers are selected for your portfolio? It certainly is not a case of “we like this guy,” or “who has the best return.” There is a very clear and defined due diligence process. But because our team of advisors recognize that this many not be visible for you, it seemed valuable to share more about it.

Are more choices better? The makers of toothpaste certainly think so. But so many choices can lead to indecision and, worse, inaction. Thankfully, people find a way to cut through the noise, buy their toothpaste and, most importantly, actually brush their teeth frequently. Investors could learn from this. Read more about my quirky analogy.

In the United States, the average federal tax refund is about $3,000. Simply put, this means that the average American tax filer pays the U.S. government about $250 per month too much and then gets their own money back in one chunk in the spring. That brings up three questions: 1.Should they be giving the government an interest free loan? 2.What should they do with this money?3.Seriously… $300,000… How do I get that?

Imagine a situation where you were at the playground on the seesaw with your older brother. It works well at first. Then winter comes. The next spring you hop on the seesaw again, but it doesn’t work anymore. Your brother grew faster, and now the seesaw is out of balance. He gets on, you fly up on your side, and you’re stuck with your legs dangling in the air, suspended until he lets you down. Your seesaw is out of balance. You need to rebalance to make it work the right way again.

Many investors view the stock market as risky, because they may lose money. In our eyes, it is worthwhile to have some awareness of the various types of investment risk. In our video, we share several sources of investment risk that you may not have fully considered. Below, we talk in more detail about those risks.

If I were to ask you to take your life savings, drive to the casino, walk to the roulette wheel and put all of your money on black 17… would you do it? Probably not. But why? Because it’s risky. You’ve put all of your hope in that one thing. If it works, are you a genius? Umm…no. You were very lucky. Take your money and walk away. It’ll probably never happen again.

Here is an interesting question: What does it actually mean to invest? When we were thinking of topics to bring to you, we kept coming back to foundational questions, to help you understand what we are really doing.

Would you worry if the stock market closed for five months? It did just that at the outbreak of World War I. I’ll admit, that is over 100 years ago. But what if the market was only open a few days a month? I would guess that after a time, most people would actually worry less than they do now. To see why that is so, let’s talk about what a market is, and what it does for us.

Let’s be frank; no one likes to pay for insurance. It’s one of those things we do because we’re “responsible adults”. But in many cases we’re paying to protect ourselves against something that isn’t likely to happen. Most people don’t totally destroy their cars. Most houses don’t burn down. But when those things do happen, they can have catastrophic financial effects on those who are ill-prepared. While this is true for things like houses and cars, it’s also true when it comes to planning your financial future. Let’s take a quick dive into three areas we think are critically important to address when thinking about your financial plan.

We work with clients through all stages of life and through multiple generations. From going to college, paying off debt, getting married, saving for a house and of course, planning for retirement. And while accomplishing these important financial and life goals is critical, it can all go up in smoke in an instant if you haven’t planned properly. Premature death, disability, and an inability to handle one’s own affairs can leave you and your loved ones in a difficult position. Luckily, there are some simple things you can do to plan for the unforeseen and protect your loved ones and your financial legacy.

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